Many golfers aren’t sure how to get in shape for the game or have misconceptions about how to do it. Also, men and women tend to have different weaknesses that they need to focus on…

MEN

Men often believe that adding muscle is the secret to adding distance to their drives. Actually, adding flexibility and range of motion is more beneficial. Men usually lack the flexibility to rotate their bodies through a golf swing, robbing them of the torque that produces long drives. Older men are especially likely to lack flexibility, but this need not be so. With proper stretching, you can have nearly as much flexibility in retirement as you did in your 30s.

Perform three simple stretches before beginning a round of golf or hitting at the driving range…

  • Hamstring stretch. Lie on the floor with your legs extended in front of you, feet about two feet apart. Reach toward your toes by bending at the waist. Hold the stretch as far as you can reach for 15 to 30 seconds. Do not “bounce” the stretch to hold on closer to your toes — that could cause a hamstring injury.

  • Shoulder stretch. Windmill your arms in large, slow arcs around your shoulders. The arcs should be as large and complete as you can manage. Do five to 10 circles in each direction. If you have a bad shoulder, it is safest to focus on each arm individually. Otherwise, it is okay to do both arms at once.

  • Torso stretch. Sit on the floor with legs extended straight in front of you, then cross your left leg over your right. Slowly turn your upper body to the left as far as you can with your right elbow against your left knee, and hold for several seconds. Then reverse positions, and stretch in the opposite direction. Repeat three times in each direction.

    • Men who lift weights usually lift the heaviest weights they can in order to build bulky muscles. But bulky muscles add little to a golf game and might even hurt your swing if the muscle makes you less flexible. Instead, use lighter weights but lift them more times, which builds muscle endurance rather than size. Select weights light enough so that you can do 50 reps of a particular exercise. For most men, that will be weights of no more than 10 to 20 pounds.

    WOMEN

    Female golfers tend to lack upper body strength. Push-ups are the best way to correct this. Start by doing push-ups from your knees if you cannot do them from your toes. Don’t become frustrated if you can complete only a single push-up the first day. Just do as many push-ups as you can, and try to do more with each passing day, working up to two sets of 15 to 25 push-ups.

    Other ways women can get in shape for golf…

  • Build hand strength. Women golfers tend to lack hand strength. Your distance and accuracy will suffer if the club moves around at all in your hand during your swing. Use a simple “hand grip” exerciser or squeeze a tennis ball to build hand strength. Do this every other day for five to 10 minutes.

  • Jump rope. Many female recreational golfers have trouble consistently centering the ball on the club face, resulting in poor accuracy. Jumping rope is one great way to overcome this hand-eye coordination problem. Using a jump rope forces the hands, eyes and body to work together, much as they should during a golf swing.

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